February 18, 2009

Harding University, the largest private educational institution in the state, officially opened as Harding College in Morrilton (Conway County) in 1924. Due to ongoing financial problems partly the result of the Great Depression, the school moved to Searcy (White County) in 1934. The institution has continued to grow at this location, obtaining university status in 1979. The campus, which today occupies a 200-acre site, is shown here in 1961.